Related Articles

BANGKOK— In Thailand's capital, anti-government protestors kept up pressure on the government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra Tuesday. Protesters occupied more government ministries in a bid to pressure her government to resign.

Bands of roaming protesters crisscrossed the Thai capital Tuesday in a bid to occupy more government ministries and demand workers go home. Thousands of whistle-blowing rally goers targeted the government ministries of agriculture, tourism, transport and the interior.

While protests have grown heated, Prime Minister Yingluck says authorities would not resort to violence. She called on them to obey the law and avoid the use of "mob rule." She has vowed not to stand down or dismiss parliament.

But the Criminal Court Tuesday approved an arrest warrant for protest leader and former Democrat Party member Suthep Thaugsuban. On Monday evening Prime Minister Yingluck announced the widening of internal security laws to cover the capital, Bangkok, and nearby provinces.

Ministries in Bangkok, Thailand

x

Ministries in Bangkok, Thailand

The Prime Minister said the heightened protests had affected public peace and order and led to the government invoking the internal security act in Bangkok and nearby provinces. She called on "fellow citizens" not to support protests that violated the law.

The internal security laws grant authorities power to impose curfews, restrict access to buildings and ban the use of electronic devises.

News of the tighter security laws did little to stem the rallies, with thousands of protestors seen outside official buildings.

Kraisak Choonhavan, a member of the opposition Democrat Party, which led the protests, says crowds highlighted the popular discontent with the government's policies. "The internal security act will anger them more. They will defy that. We can probably expect more trouble in the next few days and the sit-in in the Ministry of Finance is symbolic to the people's discontentment of the Ministry's key role in the financial policy that has angered the people," Kraisak stated.

Kraisak said a majority of the protesters are from Bangkok. But tens of thousands from provincial regions have also come to the capital, because they are upset over unpopular plans for government water infrastructure projects and the central government's failure to address issues of importance to farming communities.

The rallies were triggered by a parliamentary push by Yingluck's coalition government to pass a controversial amnesty bill covering political protests and criminal acts dating back more than eight years. It also included corruption cases seen by critics as favoring Yingluck's older brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, who fled Thailand in 2008 to avoid a two year prison term for corruption.

The bill was later voted down in the Senate but the move failed to stem the growing momentum against the government. Protesters accuse Thaksin of being too influential over his sister's administration.

Well-wishers hold pictures of Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Dec. 4, 2013, as they camp outside the palace where he is staying in Hua Hin, Prachuap Khiri Khan province, Thailand, a day before his birthday.

Anti-government protesters shout as they break down the barriers at the Thai Police Headquarters in Bangkok, Dec. 4, 2013.

Analysts expect an intensification of pressure on the government in the coming days. Thitinan Pongsudhirak is a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University. "The next few days we will see intensifying brinkmanship from the anti-government side. It is very clear there is a coalition broad-based and in large numbers based in Bangkok that wants to change the government. The government is likely to be forced to rely on mobilizing its own supporters," he said.

Pro-government supporters, known as Red Shirts, are largely middle and working class backers of pro-Thaksin governments who have been rallying at a stadium on the outskirts of Bangkok. But analysts say there are divisions among the ranks, with some former Red Shirt groups joining the latest rallies. Analysts fear a clash between Red Shirt supporters and anti-government protestors.

The uncertainties triggered selling on the Thai foreign exchange and share markets. The U.S. State Department joined other foreign embassies to warn nationals to exercise caution in Bangkok, amid fears of escalating violence.

Manned deep space missions are still a long way off, but space agencies are already testing procedures, equipment and human stamina for operations in extreme environment conditions. Small groups of astronauts take turns in spending days in an underwater lab, off Florida’s southern coast, simulating future missions to some remote world. VOA’s George Putic reports.

Video

Manned deep space missions are still a long way off, but space agencies are already testing procedures, equipment and human stamina for operations in extreme environment conditions. Small groups of astronauts take turns in spending days in an underwater lab, off Florida’s southern coast, simulating future missions to some remote world. VOA’s George Putic reports.

Video

Fifty years ago, lawmakers approved, and U.S. President Lyndon Johnson signed, the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The measure outlawed racial discrimination in voting, giving millions of blacks in many parts of the southern United States federal enforcement of the right to vote. Correspondent Chris Simkins introduces us to some civil rights leaders who were on the front lines in the struggle for voting rights.

Video

Billions of dollars of so-called ‘dirty money’ from the proceeds of crime - especially from Russia - are being laundered through the London property market, according to anti-corruption activists. As Henry Ridgwell reports from the British capital, the government has pledged to crack down on the practice.

Video

Ottawa, Illinois, is the hometown of W.D. Boyce, who founded the Boy Scouts of America in 1910. In Ottawa, where Scouting remains an important part of the legacy of the community, the end of the organization's ban on openly gay adult leaders was seen as inevitable. VOA's Kane Farabaugh reports.

Video

Artificial limbs, including the most complex of them – the human hand – are getting more life-like and useful due to constant advances in tiny hydraulic, pneumatic and electric motors called actuators. But now, as VOA’s George Putic reports, scientists in Germany say the future of the prosthetic hand may lie not in motors but in wires that can ‘remember’ their shape.

Video

A British pro-democracy group has accused Russia of abusing the global law enforcement agency Interpol by requesting the arrest and extradition of political opponents. A new report by the group notes such requests can mean the accused are unable to travel and are often unable to open bank accounts. VOA's Henry Ridgwell reports.

Video

Talks on a major new trade agreement among 12 Pacific Rim nations are said to be nearing completion in Hawaii. Some trade experts say the "positive atmosphere" at the discussions could mean a deal is within reach, but there is still hard bargaining to be done over many issues and products, including U.S. drugs and Japanese rice. VOA's Jim Randle reports.

Video

Earth is in the midst of its sixth mass extinction. The last such event was caused by an asteroid 66 million years ago. It killed off the dinosaurs and practically everything else. So scientists are in a race against time to classify the estimated 11 million species alive today. So far only 2 million are described by science, and researchers are worried many will disappear before they even have a name. VOA’s Rosanne Skirble reports.

Video

Scientists have long been trying to develop an effective protection and cure for malaria - one of the deadliest diseases that affects people in tropical areas, especially children. As the World Health Organization announces plans to begin clinical trials of a promising new vaccine, scientists in South Africa report that they too are at an important threshold. George Putic reports, they are testing a compound that could be a single-dose cure for malaria.

Video

The latest issue of 'New York' magazine features 35 women who say they were drugged and raped by film and television celebrity Bill Cosby. The women are aged from 44 to 80 and come from different walks of life and races. The magazine interviewed each of them separately, but Zlatica Hoke reports their stories are similar.

Video

The United States is promising not to give up its fight against what Secretary of State John Kerry calls the “scourge” of modern slavery. Officials released the country’s annual human trafficking report Monday – a report that’s being met with some criticism. VOA’s National Security correspondent Jeff Seldin has more from the State Department.

Video

Abandoned more than 50 years ago, the underground streetcar station in Washington D.C.’s historic DuPont Circle district is about to be reborn. The plan calls for turning the spacious underground platforms - once meant to be a transportation hub, - into a unique space for art exhibitions, presentations, concerts and even a film set. Roman Mamonov has more from beneath the streets of the U.S. capital. Joy Wagner narrates his report.

Video

Greece has replaced Italy as the main gateway for migrants into Europe, with more than 100,000 arrivals in the first six months of 2015. Many want to move further into Europe and escape Greece’s economic crisis, but they face widespread dangers on the journey overland through the Balkans. VOA's Henry Ridgwell reports.

Video

After the closure of a major rubbish dump a week ago, the streets of Beirut are filling up with trash. Having failed to draw up a plan B, politicians are struggling to deal with the problem. John Owens has more for VOA from Beirut.

Video

A U.N. climate conference in December aims to produce an ambitious agreement to fight heat-trapping greenhouse gases. But many local governments are not waiting, and have drafted their own climate action plans. That’s the case with Paris — which is getting special attention, since it’s hosting the climate summit. Lisa Bryant takes a look for VOA at the transformation of the French capital into an eco-city.